The Curse of Atlas
by Daughter of Pallas Athena
Summary: Warning. Contains spoilers to The Titan's Curse. What was it like for Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, to bear the sky upon her shoulders? What were her emotions, her thoughts, after the betrayal of Luke?


**Welcome everyone to my first story, though I am no stranger to this site. All kinds of feed back are welcome, I would just like to know what everyone thinks of my writing style. A bit of warning though to those readers who have not finished The Titan's Curse, this work does contain slight spoilers. With that said, enjoy! **

**I, in no way, shape or form, have any legal standings to lay claim to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This series belongs to the author, Rick Riordan, and the Disney owned company Hyperion. **

**-Pallas **

The Curse of Atlas

I never thought that I, a daughter of Athena, would ever agree with a seaweed brained son of Poseidon. As was happening more often these days since had I met Perseus Jackson, I was wrong. Luke, someone I had admired from the age of seven, was indeed evil. He was a traitor, a traitor to Camp Half-Blood, Olympus, and to myself.

This conclusion resting on my mind felt nearly as excruciating as the weight of the sky resting on my shoulders, courtesy of a certain handsome son of Hermes. I had always known that Atlas had been given a terrible punishment, the burden of the sky, but now I truly understood his agony. The pain was unbearable and every moment that passed, I felt myself losing height, bringing the sky precariously closer to the Earth. I was sure that if I were a mere mortal, I would have died the moment I took the burden from Luke. Sometimes, it truly was a curse to be a demigod.

Through the anguish, I attempted to focus my mind, to somehow lessen the pain by just the most miniscule degree. I thought of Camp Half-Blood, my mother, my family, but all was drowned by the pain of carrying the sky. The weight above me sank lower on to my back, bringing me to my knees, the only thing keeping me from destroying the world was one last thought, stronger than all the rest: _Percy will come._

Only thoughts of Percy allowed me to keep the sky from a fatal embrace with the Earth. My feelings for him though, were obscure. I did not know whether I felt for him in more than a platonic way, but I did know, that he would come to my rescue, for he is a true hero, the child of the prophecy that I had read when I was so young.

However, I was proven wrong once again, but I was only partly off this time. Percy did not save me from the weight of the world. The great goddess of the Hunt, Artemis, was the one to ease my burden. It tore my heart to see the beautiful goddess bearing the sky, but I was glad to no longer be host of the curse of Atlas. My freedom though was quite fleeting, as I was shackled and dragged about like a pet behind Luke. Hate burned in my heart for what he had done, but there were times when the old Luke shined through, the Luke I had loved. I would see it flash in his eyes for a moment, then vanish just as quickly.

These moments began to alter my bitter, angry thoughts of him. I knew he felt resentment toward his father, but maybe the power of Kronos was really the cause of his treasonous actions. Perhaps the old Luke glimmer I saw from time to time was him fighting the titan's power. But this possibility warred with the other of Luke being truly evil. Even with the intelligence naturally given to a child of Athena, I could not conclusively decide either way.

My heart and mind were eased only from their confused, frustrated torture when Percy appeared. These feelings were quickly replaced by fear when he bore the sky from Artemis. The ensuing battle tortured my weak heart. When I had been first captured, I was sure that Luke was evil, but the glances of the old Luke were beginning to convince me otherwise. I didn't know if I would be able to actually fight him. Fortunately, yet unfortunately, Thalia relieved me of having to face my indecision…

After everything that occurred on Mount Othrys, I was no longer sure of anything. Was Luke truly evil as Percy claimed? Or was there still good in Luke (I leaned more toward this possibility for my past experiences with Luke could not be dismissed after much analyzing)? Then, the most difficult question of all, what did I feel for the son of Poseidon, Perseus Jackson? I feared that soon I would have to answers these questions and that they would affect the fate of Olympus.


End file.
